PHILOKALIA MINISTRIES

From Compunction to Surrender in the Fire of Divine Eros “We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19 There is a compunction that still circles the self. Tears can be shed that are secretly about my failure. My weakness. My fall. My loss of image. Even repentance can become a mirror in which I stare at myself. The fathers warn us that the ego is subtle. It will clothe itself even in sackcloth. The sorrow that leads to life does not end in self absorption. It breaks the he

A Dialogue between  Saint Sophrony and a disciple ⸻ Disciple: Father, I received a word from an elder. It struck me deeply. He said: “You are freed from the denial. Your compunction must turn into your abiding in Him. He loves you and wants to abide in you and you in Him infinitely more than you want this. And He wants your love so much that He wants to make your love like His, because Love seeks to be loved as He loves.” I trembled when I read it. It felt both consoling and